2004 Year in Review

National Family Week – Healthy Families Communicate

Connections Count is the theme of National Family Week, observed November 21-27, 2004, according to Amy Griswold, Family Life Educator with University of Illinois Extension. Family communication is one of the strengths of a healthy family. Effective communication helps families to maintain the connections that hold them together.

Communication affects everything that goes on among people. For effective communication to take place, the family needs to provide an environment that promotes open and honest conversation.

Griswold offers the following tips to encourage family communication:
- Make time to talk about things that are important to your family. Eating meals together is a good time to encourage conversation.
- Turn off the TV for a designated time to stop and talk to family members.
- Talk while riding in the car. The ride home is a good time to catch up on the events of the day.
- Do household chores together and talk while you work.

Even when we make time to talk, we need to recognize that effective communication involves listening as well as talking. Many of us don’t really listen when someone tries to talk to us. To be an effective listener, we need to listen empathetically. This means listening to what the speaker is communicating, not only just to the words that are spoken. Try to really understand what the speaker is feeling. Look at the other person’s perspective, not just your own point of view.

Some tips for effective listening include:
- Be interested – maintain eye contact, nod your head – show you are listening.
- Watch for feelings behind the words.
- Listen for the main idea of what is being said.
- Check your interpretation with the speaker to make sure you understand what is being said.
- Don’t let your personal feelings distort what you think is said.
- Understand that you don’t have to agree with the speaker but recognize the speaker’s feelings and point of view.

Building effective communication within the family takes effort of all involved, but can result in stronger relationships and fewer misunderstandings.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
November 8, 2004